Once in a blue moon

New Year’s Eve here will literally be once in a blue moon. The partial lunar eclipse will cause a ‘blue moon” to occur on New Year’s Eve. “Blue moon” is actually a misnomer since the moon will not be blue, so do not look for any blue to be showing on New Year’s Eve. It is actually the second full moon in any calendar month. This occurs but does not do so often. Normally there is a new moon every 29.5 days. Sometimes, like in the month of December, we are actually lucky enough to have two full moons. What makes this so special is that the last time a full moon occurred twice in one month was back in May 2007. The last time that it occurred on a New Year’s Eve was 1990. The next time it will occur will be 2028. The history of the term “blue moon” is explained on NASA’s website.

So, should you be fortunate enough (weather permitting – us in New England are scheduled for a Nor’Easter) to see the moon and stars on your New Year’s Eve and maybe receive your New Year’s kiss underneath that moon, consider yourself fortunate, it only happens once in a blue moon.